The Loyal Ninja
by Adderall
Summary: Compared to his idealistic and outgoing older brother, Naruto's pragmatic and reserved attitude was a stark contradiction. Naruto thrived as a Shinobi, but his dedication to his training widened the rift in his family further and as he progressed rapidly in his career he grew to wonder if he could ever be himself with his family, and if he even wanted to.


"You have been accepted into the Konohagakure Shinobi corps," the Jonin said, the flat tone of his voice somehow terrifying to the rows of nervous Academy graduates in front of him.

"Henceforth you will carry out the will of the Hokage and dedicate your entire self to the service of your village. You will be ordered to kill. and you may, in turn, be killed yourselves" the grizzled Jonin's gaze swept across the room, locking eyes with Naruto for just a moment causing the awe-struck boy to shiver.

"You are Ninja of the village hidden in the leaves. For our village, a Shinobi will do whatever is necessary." Many of the newly minted Genin didn't seem to take his words seriously, though they they were too afraid to say anything, but Naruto had absorbed everything the man said and knew just how different his life would become in the coming weeks.

Indicating the table of small rectangular boxes the unnamed ninja simply said, "Dismissed," before exiting the room.

Slightly dazed, Naruto took one of the plain wooden boxes and fastened the Hitai-ate inside of it to his forehead, then it sunk in fully, he was a ninja. The feeling was one he would never forget. When he'd entered the academy he'd thought he would be elated when he became a ninja; but, he realized, he knew now how serious the life of a ninja really was. Fastening the Hitai-ate to his forehead Naruto felt his obligation to the village settled on his shoulders, it felt almost comforting, and Naruto felt his life had a clear direction, it felt good to know what was expected of him and where his life was headed. For once Naruto felt like he'd made a real difference in his own life, it was a great feeling.

Naruto left the academy and made his way down the main road towards his family's home, further away from the district where most ninja traditionally lived, thoughts still on his promotion.

As he neared his destination Naruto's thoughts drifted to whom he might be teamed with. He never had any problems with the other graduates; but he resolved not to let personal feelings or a weak teammate get in the way of his training. Naruto thought of his brother and his friends who shouted to the winds how being a ninja was about being a hero and protecting people. Naruto wouldn't become like Daisuke, he knew the life of a ninja was dangerous and not at all glamorous, Naruto had had a strictly professional attitude for months since he'd finally come to the realization being a Ninja was not a game, it was serious business and sentimental feelings had no place in business.

Naruto cut off his train of thought as he stepped up the gravel path to the modest home he shared with his family in the city suburbs. No one would've guessed the retired Hokage and his wife had taken up residence in the unremarkable house to raise their children after the Kyuubi had been sealed in Daisuke, but it was so. Minato retired from the position of Hokage and became a strategist to the shock and even outrage of many, and his mother became a part time consultant for the research department and occaisonally took on diplomatic missions.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Naruto?" called his mother, sounding slightly frazzled as she always did when she tried to take over the cooking,

"What took you so long? We were worried, I almost sent your brother out to find you!"

Naruto scowled at the suggestion he needed to be fetched like a lost child; he still held on hope his parents would treat him more like an adult now he was a ninja, because he technically was one. All ninja were legal adults by Konoha law. But he doubted they'd ever see him as anything but a silly child playing at being a Shinobi. When he was allowed to join the Academy after a week of begging, his Mother and Father had seemed to half expect him to come crying asking to drop out because he was so young. As time went on and Naruto was consistently performing well and becoming more and more dedicated they had been afraid of the developments in his personality and subtly tried to encourage him to be more like his over exuberant older brother to no avail. That had hurt for Naruto, not that he showed it. He wouldn't ever let them see weakness, that would only make them think they were right to disapprove of Naruto's drive for sucess.

Naruto was secretly jealous of Daisuke, he was older than him by two and a half years and they were polar opposites. Daisuke was enthusiastic and loud all of the time, to the point some might call him obnoxious. Naruto was reserved and focused, the intensity with which Naruto undertook everything and anything related to being a Ninja made people uncomfortable, while Daisuke's relaxed attitude on the subject was mostly accepted. Daisuke's ease with people, specifically with their parents, was what Naruto truly envied about his brother. Naruto couldn't ever relate to them like Daisuke did. Minato and Kushina were after all, the ones who hadn't wanted him to train so hard and were dissapointed in his choices. Naruto loved his parents, but they couldn't understand his ambition, he dobted they ever would.

So, walking into the kitchen Naruto braced himself for a potential confrontation. He didn't know how they would react to him taking the exam two years earlier than normal students would, though graduating early was not too uncommon that it would cause a stir. It wasn't his parents; however, who first noticed his new hitai-ate, as they were frantically trying to salvage the burnt food on the stove.

Daisuke who walked in just a second after Naruto brightened at the sight of his brother,

"Naruto-kun! How was the last day of-", Daisuke's face was confused then shocked for a second before he exploded in Naruto's direction with excitement. Minato and Kushina had looked over at Daisuke's greeting, they too were shocked, but Naruto also saw the sadness and resignation in his parents eyes resting on his small form dressed in simple black ninja gear with the new forehead protector around his head. He resisted the urge to clench his fists.

Naruto hadn't bothered to tell his family he would be taking the Genin exam this year, and, considering it was Naruto's first year of the academy and he was only ten, the minimum age one can become a ninja legally excluding wartime, they hadn't really thought he would be becoming a Genin for another two years.

Somewhere in between Daisuke's mad ravings about saving the village and mentoring his baby brother, Minato managed to ask, with a hint of incredulity, why Naruto hadn't told anyone he would be taking the test.

Naruto had realized his desire to act on his own stemmed from a need to be more independent from his family, their legacies constantly overshadowed anything he did and people expected him to act in a certain way because of his parentage. He could hardly answer a question correctly in class without being told he was going to be a hero just like his Father or get compared to his brother if he even smiled at someone in a certain way. It was infuriating.

Naruto felt like his own person for once when he was inducted as a ninja, his achievements were his own and he felt a sense of purpose was given him as a ninja of the leaf. Naruto was sure he'd made the right choice in breaking away from his family. He loved them, but he knew that his parents would only hold him back if they were too involved. Naruto had always known they were reluctant to even let him go to the academy so young, and now they knew he was a ninja the apprehension and fear he saw in Minato and Kushina's sad eyes had returned stronger than ever.

Of course Naruto didn't say any of this, he only shrugged in response and said, "It didn't come up," with an air of finality. He continued to eat ignoring the slight tension caused by his coarse words.

"Ne, Naruto you've gotten so cold! I should introduce you to Sasuke, you'd get along great!" Daisuke bellowed with a cheesy grin, managing to break the tension and distract Minato and Kushina much to Naruto's relief.

The family settled into their dinner routine, Minato shamelessly gossiped about other ninja while Kushina pretended to be outraged he would spread rumors, and Daisuke continued with his antics, going on and on about his teams second C ranked mission coming up next week. Naruto was mostly silent, only talking when someone asked him a direct question or directed a comment at him. The subject of Naruto's promotion only came up a few times and to Naruto's relief and surprise his family had been unwilling to ask why he didn't want his family involved in his career. Naruto felt a pang of regret at the rift which was only growing wider between himself and his parents.

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AN: This is only a short little opening, hopefully successive chapters will be longer and a little more interesting. Anyway I would be eternally grateful if you would leave a review and let me know what you liked/didn't like and what-not...

Update: I changed their ages (from what I originally wrote) just to make it more realistic and line up with what I have planned, just putting this here just in case it's needed.


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